Defrost: Prologue
by M. Hadley
Summary: Although Queen Elsa of Arendelle managed to rectify her mistake and thaw her precious kingdom...there was someone that never forgot how frightening that sudden winter was. And that someone has hired a fallen knight known as the Overmaster to pursue the "Ice Queen"...


Defrost: Prologue  
>By M. Hadley<p>

The cold had become a creeping thing, a silent intruder that stole the very life out of the darkened banquet hall. Its touch manifested as an ivory lacquer, covering the hall like a white wave; the mammoth room was conquered in seconds. By the feeble light of several candles, the shadowy figure known in all the lands as the Overmaster watched as his breath became a wispy cloud of steam, floating up towards the high arched ceiling and evaporating into nothingness.

He felt a slight quiver of fear, infinitesimal in its duration. Good. He was human and thought himself no higher than that. Fear provided caution and boundaries; it grounded him in reality. His mind was far deadlier than any sorceress, monster, or anything in between. Arrogance...hubris brought mistakes. Thinking that one was limitless was the ultimate irony, as that same individual was in the end the most restricted. In his or her euphoria, weaknesses would manifest...and would be easily exploited by the right adversary.

The blizzard winds that had throttled his craggy castle were now inside, thundering against the thick oak double doors of the hall. He faced them from his position at the head of the massive refectory table, sitting comfortably in his equally giant chair. Another stab of fear overtook his heart, this time longer. He could not bask in the feeling too long. His fingertips caressed the icy surface of a beautiful snow globe sitting directly before him. This object was his dagger, his sword, his blade to draw ichor. It was also his shield against a goddess's wrath.

The winds howled like a living beast before suddenly dying down for a brief period. He knew why. She wanted him to hear her coming...to tremble and panic before her icy wrath was visited upon him. Sure enough, seconds later, he heard her high heels of ice click against the stony floor...slowly and steady, the sensual sashay of a confident being. In the spontaneous silence, the clicks reverberated majestically, nearly deafening. After a minute, they stopped at the double doors.

Fear threatened to become terror. But the Overmaster once again caressed the snowglobe, shattering his unsteadiness completely.

An icy explosion blew the heavy oak doors off of their hinges. Standing in the now empty doorway was a svelte beauty, possessing gleaming platinum blond tresses in an elegant French braid over one slender shoulder. A gossamer-like blue gown clung delicately to her refined figure, although signs of battle had ruined its unearthly elegance somewhat. As she spoke, rows of icy spikes and blinding snow flurries ravaged the hall, surging all about the Overmaster, who, pardoned the pun, kept an icy composure as well.

"WHERE IS MY SISTER?!" the woman screamed, her blue eyes glowing radiantly in the limited light of the banquet hall. "Anna?! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

"Calm yourself." the shadowy being spoke, pressing his fingertips together.

"WHERE IS SHE?!" the beautiful woman cried, striding angrily towards the man.

"Your Majesty..." the man spoke barely above a whisper. "Calm yourself."

"WHERE IS ANNA!?" the woman now growled as she came closer. A row of deadly icy spikes raced past the man, nearly inches from him now.

"QUEEN ELSA OF ARENDELLE...Compose yourself!" the Overmaster roared, pounding his fist on the table. "You can freeze me...but then, you will never find your sister-"

"Anna...what did you do with her?!" Queen Elsa asked in a pleading tone. She was just a few feet away from him now. Halting in midstep, she closed her eyes and took a series of deep breaths. The interior blizzard suddenly ceased, and the multitude of ice spikes vanished into ether.

"Now...we can converse-" the Overmaster started earnestly.

"Why are you after me? My family?" Elsa stared angrily at her tormentor. "Yes...what happened to my kingdom...it was a mistake...foolish, yes...and it will always be something that I will work hard to absolve..."

"What you did to Arendelle...your very existence...is unbalanced." the man snarled. "Nature has become unhinged because of you...a goddess in a human shell-"

"No." Elsa shook her head furiously. "I...I never wanted this power...this responsibility. I...never wanted...to hurt my sister..."

"Humph." the Overmaster sat back in his chair. "No one ever purposely want to upset an ant hill. But it happens because we humans have to move about, keeping our heads above the ground, not watching where we step."

"Sir...I don't...don't want to hurt you..." Elsa took a step backward, lifting her hands slowly at the man. "But you have my sister. I want her back, safe and sound. She is all I have..."

"And what about her fiancé?" the Overmaster said quietly. "Is he not your friend now? Or is he too...ordinary?"

"Unlike you, I don't have delusions of grandeur." Elsa snapped. "And if you are so 'caring', why are your monsters continuing to assault him and my royal guard?!"

"But you are a goddess amongst mortals!" the man retorted. "One who commands the cold itself! Surely you can save your precious subjects with a wave of your hand! Surely you can perform more miracles!"

"I do not know what is worse...your blatant condescension or your abrasive arrogance!" Elsa shouted.

"Because I dare to challenge gods and monsters? Because I won't let the unknown conquer humanity?"

"Having these abilities...this blessing...does not make me a goddess of any caliber! Neither does not make me a monster. All I ever wanted was to be...normal. To be accepted. For my-my gifts to be useful for Arendelle."

" 'Useful'...like burying your beloved kingdom under ice and snow while you frolicked in your ice castle-"

"You do not get to judge me, 'monster'." Elsa growled through clenched teeth. "Not you...not after your attack on our castle. Not after kidnapping my sister and hurting Kristoff. Now...no more words except the location of Anna."

"Anna, you say?" the Overmaster reached over and caressed the snowglobe once again with his fingertips.

"You have me. Leave her out of this. Leave my kingdom out of this." Elsa said quietly, her voice trembling. "I'll...exchange myself for her. Just let her and Kristoff go free. Please."

"You know...that's why I exist." the Overmaster chuckled, hoisting the snowglobe in the air and inspecting it closely. "I am the balance...Nature's way of tipping the scales back to equal footing. I specialize in breaking the unfettered...the extraordinary. By the way...like this globe? I think it is exquisite..."

Elsa initially rolled her eyes, biting her lower lip in annoyance. Then those eyes widened. Snow began to fall around her as she quickly snatched the snowglobe, the environment reflecting her sheer horror.

Inside the snowglobe was her precious sister, along with her living childhood snowman Olaf, shrunken to the size of a pea.


End file.
